Message from MD PSEB

The adoption of Information and Communication Technologies is immensely important for socio-economic development of any country as is clearly evident from the proven positive correlation between adoption of ICT and growth in GDP. Pakistan's IT industry is now a well-established player in the global IT industry with more than 2000 IT and IT enabled Services (ITeS) companies at present.
Many Pakistani IT companies have world's largest companies amongst their clients including Halliburton(r), GE(r), BMW(r), Toyota(r), Daimler Chrysler(r) and AT&T(r). It is a matter of great pride that Pakistan is in Upwork's top 5 freelancing countries in the world with nearly 675,000 Pakistan freelancers. The applications developed by Pakistani developers have achieved top downloads on app stores of Apple(r), Google(r), and blackberry. Pakistani IT companies have won awards at Asia Pacific Information and Communication Technology Awards (APICTA) every year since 2010. These achievements are a proof of the high-end expertise of the IT companies of Pakistan.
Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) is a body under Ministry of IT which focuses on growing and promoting the IT industry of Pakistan through different industry support programs including infrastructure development through software parks, HR development through internships and trainings, company capability development through quality certifications in ISO and CMMI, and marketing through participation in international and domestic exhibitions. The Ministry of IT through Pakistan Software Export Board supports all credible private sector initiatives aimed at bolstering the local IT industry and to attract foreign investment in Pakistan's IT sector. Government offers multiple incentives to foreign investors to set-up IT development offices in Pakistan such as tax exemption on IT exports at present, 100% repatriation of profits, up to 100% equity allowed to foreign investors, and 7-year tax holiday for venture capital funds. The efforts are paying off as the IT industry has been growing in terms of the number of companies, revenue, exports and workforce every year. As reported by State Bank of Pakistan, our IT remittances grew by 41% during 2014-15 which reflects the strong exports potential of our IT industry. Our IT exports have increased by more than 11 times over the last decade thereby demonstrating clear confidence in the ability of our IT companies to deliver software and services which meet expectations of foreign clients.
The development of IT Industry is immensely important for Pakistan, in terms of job creation, foreign exchange earnings, as well as holistic growth of Pakistan's economy. Events such as RCCI Awards recognize the innovations and achievements of individuals and companies at the cutting edge of information technology industry. I want to congratulate the winners of this year's RCCI awards and I hope that more companies will participate in this competition next year. We need solid coordination between IT industry, business community, and academia to unleash the full potential of our IT industry both locally and globally.